1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for charging and discharging a photovoltaic power conditioning system (PCS) integrated battery usable for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for charging and discharging a photovoltaic power conditioning system (PCS) integrated battery capable of charging a battery using photovoltaic energy and/or system voltage and supplying photovoltaic energy or battery voltage to a system, by combining the photovoltaic PCS with a battery charger.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with increased interest of a photovoltaic technology, an environmentally-friendly technology, research and development into component technology such as a PV module, a power converter (PCS), or the like, and a system technology thereof has been conducted. In particular, demand for research into and development of a PCS that can transfer power from the photovoltaic module to the system at maximum efficiency is ever increasing in the PV PCS field.
Further, an electric automobile using electricity as a power source and a hybrid automobile using two or more power sources have been developed. In particular, the electric automobile uses stored electric energy as a power source, such that it is advantageous in implementing a pollution-free vehicle having low-cost driving.
Despite the advantage thereof, the electric automobile has not yet been widely propagated due to technical limitations. Representative technical limitations are related to a battery storing electric energy and a battery charger capable of recharging battery voltage.
First, the problem with the battery is that the time required to recharge the energy to be stored therein is approximately 8 hours, the distance an automobile is able to travel on a single charge is relatively short when the necessity of performing frequent charging is considered, and the lifespan of the battery is remarkably small as compared to the expected period of automobile use.
Further, since the existing battery charger depends on only the system voltage rather than environmentally-friendly energy, there is no battery charger that can stably charge the battery voltage using sunlight that is an environmentally-friendly energy source.